Contextual volume control

ABSTRACT

Adjustment of volume level of a mobile device, by the mobile device without direct or manual user-input, based on one or more contextual parameters detected by the mobile device, such as ambient noise level.

BACKGROUND

The advent of the digital video recorder and multi-tuner televisionreceiver have made available many possibilities to television serviceproviders and viewers alike. In addition, viewers have come to expectflexibility and convenience with respect to facilitating communicationand interoperability amongst their television receivers and other onesof the varied electronic devices that they may own.

SUMMARY

In an aspect, a method may include or comprise detecting, by a mobiledevice, ambient noise level at time of output of audio by the mobiledevice at a particular volume level. The method may further include orcomprise comparing, by the mobile device, the ambient noise level to athreshold value. The method further include or comprise decreasing, bythe mobile device, the particular volume level by a predetermined factorwhen the ambient noise level is greater than or equal to the thresholdvalue.

In an aspect, a method may include or comprise outputting, by a mobiledevice, audio at a particular volume level. The method may furtherinclude or comprise monitoring, by the mobile device level at time ofoutputting the audio, for occurrence of a particular state or parameterdetectable by the mobile device. The method may further include orcomprise decreasing, by the mobile device, the particular volume levelin response to detecting occurrence of the particular state or parameterby the mobile device so that output volume level of the mobile device isless than the particular volume level.

In an aspect, a television receiver may include or comprise at least oneprocessor, at least one communications interface communicatively coupledwith the at least one processor, and at least one memory elementcommunicatively coupled with and readable by at least one processor andhaving stored therein processor-readable instructions. Theprocessor-readable instructions when executed by the at least oneprocessor may cause the at least one processor to send to a mobiledevice via the at least one communications interface data thatcorresponds to a definition of a threshold value used by the mobiledevice to compare with ambient noise level detected by the mobile deviceand to enable the mobile device to decrease output volume level of themobile device when ambient noise level detected by the mobile device isgreater than or equal to the threshold value.

Other aspects are possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a first example method according to the disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an example content distribution system according to thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an example block diagram of a television receiver.

FIG. 4 shows first example aspects of the system of FIG. 2 in detail.

FIG. 5 shows second example aspects of the system of FIG. 2 in detail.

FIG. 6 shows a second example method according to the disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows an example computing system or device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to or towards systems and methods foradjusting the volume of a particular mobile device, by the mobile devicewithout direct manual user-input, or “automatically,” based on one ormore “contextual” parameters. An example of such a parameter may includeambient noise level. In this example, it is contemplated that the mobiledevice may detect magnitude of ambient noise level, which in many casesmay be an indication of a situation or surrounding a user of the mobiledevice may instantly find themselves in, such as a busy motor vehicleintersection, train station, etc., and at the same time detect thevolume level of audio currently being output by the computing device.Here, it will be appreciated that if the volume of audio currently beingoutput by the mobile device is of magnitude similar to, or greater than,etc., the magnitude of ambient noise, then the user of the mobile devicemay not necessarily be fully aware of the current situation orsurrounding. In other words, the user of the mobile device may findthemselves distracted by the audio currently being output by the mobiledevice, by virtue of how loud that audio is. This could potentially leadto a situation in which the user of the mobile device might putthemselves, or others, in danger or jeopardy. For example, the user ofthe mobile device might not notice that someone is following them, thatthey are about to enter the above-mentioned busy intersection, and soon.

The various features or aspects of the present disclosure address thisand other issues associated with the potential of being too distractedby audio currently being output by a particular computing device, suchas a smartphone for example, by automatically adjusting the volume ofthat computing device when one or more contextual criterion aredetermined to be met by the computing device itself. In addition, it iscontemplated that various features or aspects of the present disclosuremay be incorporated into or within a television receiver as part of asatellite television implementation, as discussed in further detailbelow. This may, among other things, serve to entice new customers tosubscribe to services as offered by a particular satellite televisionprovider, as well as provide an incentive for existing customers tomaintain their loyalty and/or relationship with the particular satellitetelevision provider. Although not so limited, an appreciation of thevarious aspects of the present disclosure may be gained from thefollowing discussion in connection with the drawings. For instance,referring now to FIG. 1, a first example method 100 is shown inaccordance with the present disclosure.

At step 102, a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet computermay, for example, initially detect activation of a speaker(s) of themobile device, as well as a volume level of audio currently being outputby the mobile device via the speaker. For example, a user of the mobiledevice may interact with the same to activate a media player to outputdigital audio (and/or video) by a speaker of the mobile device, and alsoto adjust a volume level of the audio as output by the mobile device. Itis contemplated though that the output of the audio may not necessarilybe via a particular speaker of the mobile device. For example,headphones may be plugged into the mobile device, and thus output of theaudio may be via headphone jack of the mobile device. In eitherscenario, the mobile device may be considered a source of the audio andfurther used to control volume of the audio, and the mobile deviceitself may be considered to be configured and/or arranged such that amagnitude of volume of the audio, or volume level, as output by themobile device may be quantified by the same.

At step 104, the mobile device may detect a trigger generated by thesame in response to identification of one or more contextual criteriondetermined to be met by the mobile device. As mentioned above, anexample contextual parameter consistent with the principles of thepresent disclosure, that which may be monitored or sensed by the mobiledevice as part of a determination or identification of the one or morecontextual criterion, may include ambient noise level. Here, it iscontemplated that the mobile device itself may monitor continuously,periodically, or at least intermittently, via a microphone incorporatedtherein, for example, ambient noise level, and then or when ambientnoise level reaches a predetermined and user-configurable thresholdvalue, the mobile device may at the same time determine a currentmagnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device. Here,when the current volume level of the audio as output by the mobiledevice is greater than or equal to a predetermined and user-configurablethreshold value, one or more steps or actions may be taken by the mobiledevice so as to minimize the possibility that the user of the mobiledevice may be too distracted to adequately respond to a potentiallyhazardous situation.

Specifically, at step 106, a determination may be made by the mobiledevice as to whether the current magnitude of volume of the audio asoutput by the mobile device is greater than or equal to a predeterminedand user-configurable threshold value. When, for example, the currentmagnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device is notgreater than or equal to the predetermined and user-configurablethreshold value, process flow within the example method 100 may branchto termination step 108. When, however, the current magnitude of volumeof the audio as output by the mobile device is greater than or equal tothe predetermined and user-configurable threshold value, process flowwithin the example method 100 may, optionally, as indicated byintermittent line in FIG. 1, branch to step 110.

At step 110, the mobile device may itself output one or more warningnotifications or the like. For example, the mobile device may beconfigured and/or arranged to “vibrate” as a cue to indicate to the userof the mobile device to pay attention or become more aware of a currentsituation or surrounding. Here, it is contemplated that a pattern of thevibration may be predetermined and user-configurable, so that the userof the mobile device may quickly discern that the vibration is in fact awarning notification. For example, the user of the mobile device mayconfigure the pattern of the vibration as “long-stop-long-stop-long” soas to be distinguished from a vibration associated with notification ofreceipt of a text message which may, for example, have a pattern ofvibration as “short-stop-short-stop” or the like. As another example,the mobile device may be configured and/or arranged to output an audio“beep” and/or a perceptible verbal warning such as, “Warning, you needto pay attention,” as a cue to indicate to the user of the mobile deviceto pay attention or become more aware of the current situation orsurrounding. In this manner, the mobile device may be configured and/orarranged to output one or both of a tactile message and an audio messageas a cue to indicate to the user of the mobile device to pay attentionor become more aware of the current situation or surrounding. Otherexamples are possible as well. For the mobile device may be configuredand/or arranged to output a visual message “DANGER” in “red” font colorvia a touchscreen, and/or to output a “flashing” light sequence via LED(Light Emitting Diode), and so on.

Next, at step 112, the mobile device itself may attenuate the currentmagnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device, to apredetermined and user-configurable value. Here, it is contemplated thatthat value may be expressed in any number of ways. For example, themobile device itself may attenuate the current magnitude of volume ofthe audio as output by the mobile device by “50%” for instance, so as tominimize the possibility that the user of the mobile device may be toodistracted to adequately respond to a potentially hazardous situation.As another example, the mobile device itself may adjust a volume settinglevel to “Level 2 of 10” to reduce or attenuate magnitude of the audioas output by the mobile device, so as to minimize the possibility thatthe user of the mobile device may be too distracted to adequatelyrespond to a potentially hazardous situation. As still another example,the mobile device may “fully mute” itself so that the audio is no longereven output by the mobile device, so as to minimize the possibility thatthe user of the mobile device may be too distracted to adequatelyrespond to a potentially hazardous situation. Further scenarios andbeneficial aspects associated with adjusting the volume of a particularmobile device, by the mobile device without direct manual user-inputbased on one or more contextual parameters are described in detail belowin connection with FIGS. 2-7.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an example satellite television distributionsystem 200 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure. Forbrevity, the system 200 is depicted in a simplified form, and mayinclude more or fewer systems, devices, networks, and/or othercomponents as desired. Further, number and type of features or elementsincorporated within the system 200 may or may not beimplementation-specific, and at least some of the aspects of the system200 may be similar to a cable television distribution system, an IPTV(Internet Protocol Television) content distribution system, and/or anyother type of media content distribution system as desired.

The example system 200 may include a service provider 202, a satelliteuplink 204, a plurality of satellites 206 a-c, a satellite dish 208, aPTR (Primary Television Receiver) 210, a plurality of STRs (SecondaryTelevision Receivers) 212 a-b, a plurality of televisions 214 a-c, aplurality of computing devices 216 a-c. Additionally, the PTR 210 andcomputing devices 216 a-c may include an ACS (Audio Control Service)module 220. In general, the ACS module 220 may be configured andarranged to implement various features associated with adjusting thevolume of a particular computing device, by the computing device withoutdirect manual user-input, based on one or more contextual parameters inaccordance with the principles of the present disclosure. As discussedin further detail below, examples of such parameters include time ofday, ambient noise level, physical movement or displacement, absolutelocation or position, and etc.

The system 200 may further include at least one network 224 thatestablishes a bi-directional communication path for data transferbetween and among each respective element of the system 200, outside orseparate from the unidirectional satellite signaling path. The network224 is intended to represent any number of terrestrial and/ornon-terrestrial network features or elements. For example, the network224 may incorporate or exhibit any number of features or elements ofvarious wireless and/or hardwired packet-based communication networkssuch as, for example, a WAN (Wide Area Network) network, a HAN (HomeArea Network) network, a LAN (Local Area Network) network, a WLAN(Wireless Local Area Network) network, the Internet, a cellularcommunications network, or any other type of communication networkconfigured such that data may be transferred between and amongrespective elements of the system 200.

The PTR 210, and the STRs 212 a-b, as described throughout may generallybe any type of television receiver, television converter, etc., such asa STB for example. In another example, the PTR 210, and the STRs 212a-b, may exhibit functionality integrated as part of or into atelevision, a DVR (Digital Video Recorder), a computer such as a tabletcomputing device, or any other computing system or device, as well asvariations thereof. Further, the PTR 210 and the network 224, togetherwith the STRs 212 a-b and televisions 214 a-c, and possibly thecomputing devices 216 a-c, may each be incorporated within or form atleast a portion of a particular home computing network. Further, the PTR210 may be configured so as to enable communications in accordance withany particular communication protocol(s) and/or standard(s) including,for example, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol),DLNA/DTCP-IP (Digital Living Network Alliance/Digital Transmission CopyProtection over Internet Protocol), HDMI/HDCP (High-DefinitionMultimedia Interface/High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), etc.Other examples are possible. For example, one or more of the variouselements or components of the example system 200 may be configured tocommunicate in accordance with the MoCA® (Multimedia over Coax Alliance)home entertainment networking standard. Still other examples arepossible.

In practice, the satellites 206 a-c may each be configured to receiveuplink signals 226 a-c from the satellite uplink 204. In this example,each the uplink signals 226 a-c may contain one or more transponderstreams of particular data or content, such as one or more particulartelevision channels, as supplied by the service provider 202. Forexample, each of the respective uplink signals 226 a-c may containvarious media content such as encoded HD (High Definition) televisionchannels, SD (Standard Definition) television channels, on-demandprogramming, programming information, and/or any other content in theform of at least one transponder stream, and in accordance with anallotted carrier frequency and bandwidth. In this example, differentmedia content may be carried using different ones of the satellites 206a-c.

Further, different media content may be carried using differenttransponders of a particular satellite (e.g., satellite 206 a); thus,such media content may be transmitted at different frequencies and/ordifferent frequency ranges. For example, a first and second televisionchannel may be carried on a first carrier frequency over a firsttransponder of satellite 206 a, and a third, fourth, and fifthtelevision channel may be carried on second carrier frequency over afirst transponder of satellite 206 b, or, the third, fourth, and fifthtelevision channel may be carried on a second carrier frequency over asecond transponder of satellite 206 a, and etc. Each of these televisionchannels may be scrambled such that unauthorized persons are preventedfrom accessing the television channels.

The satellites 206 a-c may further be configured to relay the uplinksignals 226 a-c to the satellite dish 208 as downlink signals 228 a-c.Similar to the uplink signals 226 a-c, each of the downlink signals 228a-c may contain one or more transponder streams of particular data orcontent, such as various encoded and/or at least partiallyelectronically scrambled television channels, on-demand programming,etc., in accordance with an allotted carrier frequency and bandwidth.The downlink signals 228 a-c, however, may not necessarily contain thesame or similar content as a corresponding one of the uplink signals 226a-c. For example, the uplink signal 226 a may include a firsttransponder stream containing at least a first group or grouping oftelevision channels, and the downlink signal 228 a may include a secondtransponder stream containing at least a second, different group orgrouping of television channels. In other examples, the first and secondgroup of television channels may have one or more television channels incommon. In sum, there may be varying degrees of correlation between theuplink signals 226 a-c and the downlink signals 228 a-c, both in termsof content and underlying characteristics.

Further, satellite television signals may be different from broadcasttelevision or other types of signals. Satellite signals may includemultiplexed, packetized, and modulated digital signals. Oncemultiplexed, packetized and modulated, one analog satellite transmissionmay carry digital data representing several television stations orservice providers. Some examples of service providers include HBO®,CBS®, ESPN®, and etc. Further, the term “channel,” may in some contextscarry a different meaning from or than its normal plain languagemeaning. For example, the term “channel” may denote a particular carrierfrequency or sub-band which can be tuned to by a particular tuner of atelevision receiver. In other contexts though, the term “channel” mayrefer to a single program/content service such as HBO®.

Additionally, a single satellite may typically have multipletransponders (e.g., 32 transponders) each one broadcasting a channel orfrequency band of about 24-27 MHz in a broader frequency or polarityband of about 500 MHz. Thus, a frequency band of about 500 MHz maycontain numerous sub-bands or channels of about 24-27 MHz, and eachchannel in turn may carry a combined stream of digital data comprising anumber of content services. For example, a particular hypotheticaltransponder may carry HBO®, CBS®, ESPN®, plus several other channels,while another particular hypothetical transponder may itself carry 3, 4,5, 6, etc., different channels depending on the bandwidth of theparticular transponder and the amount of that bandwidth occupied by anyparticular channel or service on that transponder stream. Further, inmany instances a single satellite may broadcast two orthogonal polaritybands of about 500 MHz. For example, a first polarity band of about 500MHz broadcast by a particular satellite may be left-hand circularpolarized, and a second polarity band of about 500 MHz may be right-handcircular polarized. Other examples are possible.

Continuing with the example scenario, the satellite dish 208 may beprovided for use to receive television channels (e.g., on a subscriptionbasis) provided by the service provider 202, satellite uplink 204,and/or satellites 206 a-c. For example, the satellite dish 208 may beconfigured to receive particular transponder streams, or downlinksignals 228 a-c, from one or more of the satellites 206 a-c. Based onthe characteristics of the PTR 210 and/or satellite dish 208, however,it may only be possible to capture transponder streams from a limitednumber of transponders concurrently. For example, a particular tuner ofthe PTR 210 may be configured to tune to a single transponder streamfrom a transponder of a single satellite at a time.

Additionally, the PTR 210, which is communicatively coupled to thesatellite dish 208, may subsequently select via tuner, decode, and relayparticular transponder streams to the television 214 c for displaythereon. For example, the satellite dish 208 and the PTR 210 may,respectively, be configured to receive, decode, and relay at least onepremium HD-formatted television channel to the television 214 c.Programming or content associated with the HD channel may generally bepresented live, or from a recording as previously stored on, by, or atthe PTR 210. Here, the HD channel may be output to the television 214 cin accordance with the HDMI/HDCP content protection technologies. Otherexamples are however possible.

Further, the PTR 210 may select via tuner, decode, and relay particulartransponder streams to one or both of the STRs 212 a-b, which may inturn relay particular transponder streams to a corresponding one of thetelevisions 214 a-b for display thereon. For example, the satellite dish208 and the PTR 210 may, respectively, be configured to receive, decode,and relay at least one television channel to the television 214 a by wayof the STR 212 a. Similar to the above-example, the television channelmay generally be presented live, or from a recording as previouslystored on the PTR 210, and may be output to the television 214 a by wayof the STR 212 a in accordance with a particular content protectiontechnology and/or networking standard. Still further, the satellite dish208 and the PTR 210 may, respectively, be configured to receive, decode,and relay at least one premium television channel to one or each of thecomputing devices 216 a-c. Similar to the above-examples, the televisionchannel may generally be presented live, or from a recording aspreviously stored on the PTR 210, and may be output to one or both ofthe computing devices 216 a-c in accordance with a particular contentprotection technology and/or networking standard.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example block diagram of the PTR 210 of FIG.2 is shown in accordance with the disclosure. In some examples, STRs 312a-b may be configured in a manner similar to that of the PTR 210. Insome examples, the STRs 312 a-b may be configured and arranged toexhibit a reduced functionality as compared to the PTR 210, and maydepend at least to a certain degree on the PTR 210 to implement certainfeatures or functionality. The STRs 312 a-b in this example may be eachreferred to as a “thin client.”

The PTR 210 may include one or more processors 302, a plurality oftuners 304 a-h, at least one network interface 306, at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium 308, at least one EPG(Electronic Programming Guide) database 310, at least one televisioninterface 312, at least one PSI (Program Specific Information) table314, at least one DVR database 316, at least one user interface 318, atleast one demultiplexer 320, at least one smart card 322, at least onedescrambling engine 324, at least one decoder 326, and at least onecommunication interface 328. In other examples, fewer or greater numbersof components may be present. Further, functionality of one or morecomponents may be combined; for example, functions of the descramblingengine 324 may be performed by the processors 302. Still further,functionality of components may be distributed among additionalcomponents, and possibly additional systems such as, for example, in acloud-computing implementation.

The processors 302 may include one or more specialized and/orgeneral-purpose processors configured to perform processes such astuning to a particular channel, accessing and displaying EPGinformation, and/or receiving and processing input from a user. Forexample, the processors 302 may include one or more processors dedicatedto decoding video signals from a particular format, such as according toa particular MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) standard, for outputand display on a television, and for performing or at least facilitatingdecryption or descrambling.

The tuners 304 a-h may be used to tune to television channels, such astelevision channels transmitted via satellites 306 a-c. Each one of thetuners 304 a-h may be capable of receiving and processing a singlestream of data from a satellite transponder, or a cable RF channel, at agiven time. As such, a single tuner may tune to a single transponder or,for a cable network, a single cable channel. Additionally, one tuner(e.g., tuner 304 a) may be used to tune to a television channel on afirst transponder stream for display using a television, while anothertuner (e.g., tuner 304 b) may be used to tune to a television channel ona second transponder for recording and viewing at some other time. Ifmultiple television channels transmitted on the same transponder streamare desired, a particular tuner (e.g., tuner 304 c) may be used toreceive the signal containing the multiple television channels forpresentation and/or recording of each of the respective multipletelevision channels, such as in a PTAT (Primetime Anytime)implementation for example. Although eight tuners are shown, the PTR 210may include more or fewer tuners (e.g., three tuners, sixteen tuners,etc.), and the features of the disclosure may be implemented similarlyand scale according to the number of tuners of the PTR 210.

The network interface 306 may be used to communicate via alternatecommunication channel(s) with a service provider. For example, theprimary communication channel between the service provider 202 of FIG. 2and the PTR 210 may be via satellites 306 a-c, which may beunidirectional to the PTR 210, and an another communication channelbetween the service provider 202 and the PTR 210, which may bebidirectional, may be via the network 224. In general, various types ofinformation may be transmitted and/or received via the network interface306.

The storage medium 308 may represent a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium. The storage medium 308 may include memory and/or a harddrive. The storage medium 308 may be used to store information receivedfrom one or more satellites and/or information received via the networkinterface 306. For example, the storage medium 308 may store informationrelated to the EPG database 310, the PSI table 314, and/or the DVRdatabase 316, among other elements or features, such as the ACS module220 mentioned above. Recorded television programs may be stored usingthe storage medium 308.

The EPG database 310 may store information related to televisionchannels and the timing of programs appearing on such televisionchannels. Information from the EPG database 310 may be used to informusers of what television channels or programs are available, popularand/or provide recommendations. Information from the EPG database 310may be used to generate a visual interface displayed by a televisionthat allows a user to browse and select television channels and/ortelevision programs for viewing and/or recording. Information used topopulate the EPG database 310 may be received via the network interface306 and/or via satellites 206 a-c of FIG. 2. For example, updates to theEPG database 310 may be received periodically via satellite. The EPGdatabase 310 may serve as an interface for a user to control DVRfunctions of the PTR 210, and/or to enable viewing and/or recording ofmultiple television channels simultaneously.

The decoder 326 may convert encoded video and audio into a formatsuitable for output to a display device. For instance, the decoder 326may receive MPEG video and audio from the storage medium 308, or thedescrambling engine 324, to be output to a television. MPEG video andaudio from the storage medium 308 may have been recorded to the DVRdatabase 316 as part of a previously-recorded television program. Thedecoder 326 may convert the MPEG video and audio into a formatappropriate to be displayed by a television or other form of displaydevice and audio into a format appropriate to be output from speakers,respectively. The decoder 326 may be a single hardware element capableof decoding a finite number of television channels at a given time, suchas in a time-division arrangement. In the example embodiment, eighttelevision channels may be decoded concurrently or simultaneously.

The television interface 312 output a signal to a television, or anotherform of display device, in a proper format for display of video and playback of audio. As such, the television interface 312 may output one ormore television channels, stored television programming from the storagemedium 308, such as television programs from the DVR database 316 and/orinformation from the EPG database 310 for example, to a television forpresentation.

The PSI table 314 may store information used by the PTR 210 to accessvarious television channels. Information used to populate the PSI table314 may be received via satellite, or cable, through the tuners 304 a-hand/or may be received via the network interface 306 over the network224 from the service provider 202 shown in FIG. 2. Information presentin the PSI table 314 may be periodically or at least intermittentlyupdated. Information that may be present in the PSI table 314 mayinclude: television channel numbers, satellite identifiers, frequencyidentifiers, transponder identifiers, ECM PIDs (Entitlement ControlMessage, Packet Identifier), one or more audio PIDs, and video PIDs. Asecond audio PID of a channel may correspond to a second audio program,such as in another language. In some examples, the PSI table 314 may bedivided into a number of tables, such as a NIT (Network InformationTable), a PAT (Program Association Table), and a PMT (Program ManagementTable).

Table 1 below provides a simplified example of the PSI table 314 forseveral television channels. It should be understood that in otherexamples, many more television channels may be represented in the PSItable 314. The PSI table 314 may be periodically or at leastintermittently. As such, television channels may be reassigned todifferent satellites and/or transponders, and the PTR 210 may be able tohandle this reassignment as long as the PSI table 314 is updated.

TABLE 1 Channel Satellite Transponder ECM PID Audio PIDs Video PID 4 1 227 2001 1011 5 2 11 29 2002 1012 7 2 3 31 2003 1013 13 2 4 33 2003, 20041013

It should be understood that the values provided in Table 1 are forexample purposes only. Actual values, including how satellites andtransponders are identified, may vary. Additional information may alsobe stored in the PSI table 314. Video and/or audio for differenttelevision channels on different transponders may have the same PIDs.Such television channels may be differentiated based on which satelliteand/or transponder to which a tuner is tuned.

DVR functionality of the PTR 210 may permit a television channel to berecorded for a period of time. The DVR database 316 may store timersthat are used by the processors 302 to determine when a televisionchannel should be tuned to and recorded to the DVR database 245 ofstorage medium 308. In some examples, a limited amount of space of thestorage medium 308 may be devoted to the DVR database 316. Timers may beset by the service provider 202 and/or one or more users of the PTR 210.DVR functionality of the PTR 210 may be configured by a user to recordparticular television programs. The PSI table 314 may be used by the PTR210 to determine the satellite, transponder, ECM PID, audio PID, andvideo PID. The user interface 318 may include a remote control,physically separate from PTR 210, and/or one or more buttons on the PTR210 that allows a user to interact with the PTR 210. The user interface318 may be used to select a television channel for viewing, viewinformation from the EPG database 310, and/or program a timer stored tothe DVR database 316 wherein the timer may be used to control the DVRfunctionality of the PTR 210.

Referring back to the tuners 304 a-h, television channels received viasatellite may contain at least some encrypted or scrambles data. Packetsof audio and video may be scrambled to prevent unauthorized users, suchas nonsubscribers, from receiving television programming without payingthe service provider 202. When one of the tuners 304 a-h is receivingdata from a particular transponder of a satellite, the transponderstream may be a series of data packets corresponding to multipletelevision channels. Each data packet may contain a PID, which incombination with the PSI table 314, can be determined to be associatedwith a particular television channel. Particular data packets, referredto as ECMs may be periodically transmitted. ECMs may be encrypted; thePTR 210 may use the smart card 322 to decrypt ECMs.

The smart card 322 may function as the CA (Controlled Access) whichperforms decryption of encryption data to obtain control words that areused to descramble video and/or audio of television channels. Decryptionof an ECM may only be possible when the user (e.g., an individual who isassociated with the PTR 210) has authorization to access the particulartelevision channel associated with the ECM. When an ECM is received bythe demultiplexer 320 and the ECM is determined to correspond to atelevision channel being stored and/or displayed, the ECM may beprovided to the smart card 322 for decryption.

When the smart card 322 receives an encrypted ECM from the demultiplexer320, the smart card 322 may decrypt the ECM to obtain some number ofcontrol words. In some examples, from each ECM received by the smartcard 322, two control words are obtained. In some examples, when thesmart card 322 receives an ECM, it compares the ECM to the previouslyreceived ECM. If the two ECMs match, the second ECM is not decryptedbecause the same control words would be obtained. In other examples,each ECM received by the smart card 322 is decrypted; however, if asecond ECM matches a first ECM, the outputted control words will match;thus, effectively, the second ECM does not affect the control wordsoutput by the smart card 322. When an ECM is received by the smart card322, it may take a period of time for the ECM to be decrypted to obtainthe control words. As such, a period of time, such as about 0.2-0.5seconds, may elapse before the control words indicated by the ECM can beobtained. The smart card 322 may be permanently part of the PTR 210 ormay be configured to be inserted and removed from the PTR 210.

The demultiplexer 320 may be configured to filter data packets based onPIDs. For example, if a transponder data stream includes multipletelevision channels, data packets corresponding to a television channelthat are not desired to be stored or displayed by the user may beignored by the demultiplexer 320. As such, only data packetscorresponding to the one or more television channels desired to bestored and/or displayed may be passed to either the descrambling engine324 or the smart card 322; other data packets may be ignored. For eachchannel, a stream of video packets, a stream of audio packets and/or astream of ECM packets may be present, each stream identified by a PID.In some examples, a common ECM stream may be used for multipletelevision channels. Additional data packets corresponding to otherinformation, such as updates to the PSI table 314, may be appropriatelyrouted by the demultiplexer 320.

The descrambling engine 324 may use the control words output by thesmart card 322 in order to descramble video and/or audio correspondingto television channels for storage and/or presentation. Video and/oraudio data contained in the transponder data stream received by thetuners 304 a-h may be scrambled. The video and/or audio may bedescrambled by the descrambling engine 324 using a particular controlword. Which control word output by the smart card 322 to be used forsuccessful descrambling may be indicated by a scramble controlidentifier present within the data packet containing the scrambled videoor audio. Descrambled video and/or audio may be output by thedescrambling engine 324 to the storage medium 308 for storage, such aspart of the DVR database 316 for example, and/or to the decoder 326 foroutput to a television or other presentation equipment via thetelevision interface 312.

The communication interface 328 may be used by the PTR 210 to establisha communication link or connection between the PTR 210 and one or moreof the computing devices 216 a-c as shown in FIG. 2. It is contemplatedthat the communication interface 328 may take or exhibit any form asdesired, and may be configured in a manner so as to be compatible with alike component or element incorporated within or to the computingdevices 216 a-c, and further may be defined such that the communicationlink may be wired and/or or wireless. Example technologies consistentwith the principles or aspects of the present disclosure may include,but are not limited to, Bluetooth®, WiFi, NFC (Near FieldCommunication), and/or any other communication device or subsystemsimilar to that discussed below in connection with FIG. 7.

For brevity, the PTR 210 is depicted in a simplified form, and maygenerally include more or fewer elements or components as desired,including those configured and/or arranged for implementing variousfeatures for adjusting the volume of a particular computing device, bythe computing device without direct manual user-input, based on one ormore “contextual” parameters as desirable, as discussed in the contextof the present disclosure. For example, the PTR 210 is shown in FIG. 3to include the ACS module 220 as mentioned above in connection with FIG.2. While shown stored to the storage medium 308 as executableinstructions, the ACS module 220 could, wholly or at least partially, bestored to the processor(s) 302 of the PTR 210. Further, some routingbetween the various modules of PTR 210 has been illustrated. Suchillustrations are for exemplary purposes only. The state of two modulesnot being directly or indirectly connected does not indicate the modulescannot communicate. Rather, connections between modules of the PTR 210are intended only to indicate possible common data routing. It should beunderstood that the modules of the PTR 210 may be combined into a fewernumber of modules or divided into a greater number of modules.

Additionally, although not explicitly shown in FIG. 3, the PTR 210 mayinclude one or more logical modules configured to implement a televisionsteaming media functionality that encodes video into a particular formatfor transmission over the Internet such as to allow users to remotelyview and control a home cable, satellite, or personal video recordersystem from an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internetconnection. The Slingbox® by Sling Media, Inc. of Foster City, Calif.,is one example of a product that implements such functionality. Further,the PTR 210 may be configured to include any number of other variouscomponents or logical modules that are implemented in hardware,software, firmware, or any combination thereof, and such components orlogical modules may or may not be implementation-specific.

Referring now to FIG. 4, first aspects of the example system 200 of FIG.2 are shown in detail. In particular, the PTR 210 may be configured tooutput an EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) 402 to and for presentationthe television 214 c, for example. The EPG 402 may at least presentvarious information related to television channels and the timing ofprograms or programming appearing on such television channels. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4, the EPG 402 may display informationassociated with a channel 2012, where the “World Series” is listed asscheduled to appear on that channel starting at a particular time on aparticular day, and etc. In this example, and assuming that a currenttime is sometime during the time period 8-10 PM, a viewer may manipulatea cursor 404 using a pointing device (not shown) to select, as shown bystipple shading in FIG. 4, the World Series for immediate viewing withina window 406 on the television 214 c. Other examples are possible. Forexample, it is contemplated that any menu-driven navigation technique orimplementation may be used to enable user-interaction with the EPG 402,along with other elements or interfaces output by the PTR 210 to thetelevision 214 c.

In addition to the EPG 402, the PTR 210 may be configured to outputvarious other interactive elements or interfaces. For example, the ACSmodule 220 may be configured to output a control selection 408 and aconfiguration selection 410. In general, the control selection 408 maybe considered an access control mechanism to prevent those who may notnecessarily be authorized from accessing functionality associated withthe configuration selection 410. An example in which this may bebeneficial is in a parental control scenario. For example, a parent mayprovide a minor (e.g., their child) the mobile device 216 a as shown inFIG. 4 so that the minor has the ability to place phone calls, checke-mail, text, listen to music, etc. It is contemplated though that theparent may wish for the child to benefit from the aspects of the presentdisclosure, and further to have control as to how the aspects of thepresent disclosure apply at or during use of the mobile device 216 a,without having to worry about tampering or disabling or circumvention ofthe same by the minor.

Accordingly, in practice, the control selection 408 may be selected inorder to gain access to a particular interface so that the ACS module220 associated with the mobile device 216 a may function according tothe wishes of a particular individual (e.g., a parent). For example, theparticular individual may manipulate the cursor 404 to select thecontrol selection 408, via a “point and double-click” action using aremote control for example and, in response, the ACS module 220 of thePTR 210 may be configured to output an access interface 412 to and forpresentation by the television 214 c.

In one example, the access interface 412 may include a prompt “EnterYour PIN” along with a data field 414 and an enter selection 416. Inthis example, the particular individual may enter into the data field414 an alphanumeric sequence or the like and then select the enterselection 416 in effort to gain access functionality associated with theconfiguration selection 410. Assuming that the alphanumeric sequence isauthenticated by the ACS module 220 associated with the mobile device216 a following the described sequence, the configuration selection 410may become “active” so that upon selection the configuration interface418 may be output to and for presentation by the television 214 c. InFIG. 4, the configuration selection 410 is shown as “inactive,”indicated by a perimeter line that is weighted less than that of thecontrol selection 408, or by a perimeter line that is lighter in termsof boldness than that of the control selection 408. When theconfiguration selection 410 becomes active the perimeter line of thesame would be similar to that of the control selection 408 as shown inFIG. 4.

Again, assuming that the alphanumeric sequence is authenticated by theACS module 220 associated with the mobile device 216 a following thedescribed sequence, the particular individual may manipulate the cursor404 to select the configuration selection 410, via a “point and click”action, for example, and, in response, the ACS module 220 of the PTR 210may output the configuration interface 418 to and for presentation bythe television 214 c. Here, it is contemplated that the particularindividual may utilize the configuration interface 418 to configure theACS module 220 associated with the mobile device 216 a, as desired, toimplement one or more features or aspects of the present disclosure. Forexample, the configuration interface 418 may include a device pairselection 420, a parameters selection 422, an actions selection 424, adistress selection 426, a train selection 428, an exceptions selection430, an activate selection 432, and a lock selection 434. Theconfiguration interface 418 as shown in FIG. 4 is just an example. Otherexamples may include more or fewer “selections” as desired, and may beimplementation-specific, and further may evolve as technology evolves.

In practice, the device pair selection 420 may be selected to pair orotherwise establish a communication link or connection between themobile device 216 a and the PTR 210, such as shown in FIG. 4. In thismanner, an individual may interact with the television 214 c, andultimately the PTR 210, to program or configure the mobile device 216 a,as desired, to implement various features or aspects of the presentdisclosure. As mentioned above, this may, among other things, serve toentice new customers to subscribe to services as offered by a particularsatellite television provider, as well as provide an incentive forexisting customers to maintain their loyalty and/or relationship withthe particular satellite television provider.

Next, but not necessarily so, the parameters selection 422 may beselected to enable and define if desired (e.g., default parameter valuesare contemplated) one or more contextual parameters that when met undercertain circumstance may activate the mobile device 216 a to generate atrigger as part of an audio attenuation process similar to thatdiscussed above at least in connection with FIG. 1. For example, asshown in FIG. 4, a “time of day” parameter may be enabled and defined as“6-9 AM” so that when the mobile device 216 a detects or senses that atime of day is between “6-9 AM,” and a current magnitude of volume ofthe audio as output by the mobile device 216 a is greater than or equalto a predetermined and user-configurable threshold value (described infurther detail below), the mobile device 216 a itself may, optionally,output one or more warning notifications or the like (also described infurther detail below) and then attenuate the current magnitude of volumeof the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a to a predetermined anduser-configurable value (also described in further detail below). Otherexamples are possible. For example, one or more different times of daymay be defined, and may be defined at a specific time, and etc., such as“10 PM” and/or at any particular interval, such as “10-10:30 PM,” and soon.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 4, an “ambient noise level”parameter may be enabled and defined as “90 dB” so that when the mobiledevice 216 a detects or senses that ambient noise level is greater thanor equal “90 dB,” and a current magnitude of volume of the audio asoutput by the mobile device 216 a is greater than or equal to apredetermined and user-configurable threshold value, the mobile device216 a itself may, optionally, output one or more warning notificationsor the like and then attenuate the current magnitude of volume of theaudio as output by the mobile device 216 a to a predetermined anduser-configurable value. Other examples are possible. For example, themobile device 216 a may be configured and/or arranged to detectparticular “high” frequency content, such as via Fourier transform andcorresponding analysis of ambient noise as acquired by the mobile device216 a, and then implement audio attenuation in accordance with thepresent disclosure as desired.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 4, a “movement” parameter may beenabled and defined as “10 mph” so that when the mobile device 216 adetects or senses that the same is moving at a velocity (e.g.,instantaneous, averaged, etc.) greater than or equal “10 mph,” and acurrent magnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device216 a is greater than or equal to a predetermined and user-configurablethreshold value, the mobile device 216 a itself may, optionally, outputone or more warning notifications or the like and then attenuate thecurrent magnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device216 a to a predetermined and user-configurable value. Other examples arepossible. For example, the mobile device 216 a may be configured and/orarranged to detect altitude, such as derived from GPS (GlobalPositioning Satellite) data, similar to how velocity or accelerationmight be derived, and then implement audio attenuation in accordancewith the present disclosure as desired.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 4, a “location” parameter may beenabled and defined as “on-road” so that when the mobile device 216 adetects or senses that the same is positioned or located on a motorvehicle highway or other roadway, for example, and a current magnitudeof volume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a is greaterthan or equal to a predetermined and user-configurable threshold value,the mobile device 216 a itself may, optionally, output one or morewarning notifications or the like and then attenuate the currentmagnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a toa predetermined and user-configurable value. Other examples arepossible. For example, the mobile device 216 a may be configured and/orarranged to determine when the same is physically “on-vehicle,”motorized or not (e.g., if a user of the mobile device 216 a is on atrain or on a bicycle), and then implement audio attenuation inaccordance with the present disclosure as desired, and etc.

As mentioned throughout, the mobile device 216 a may be configuredand/or arranged to implement or perfect audio attenuation uponsatisfaction of at least the condition that current magnitude of volumeof the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a is greater than orequal to a predetermined and user-configurable threshold value. It iscontemplated that that threshold value may be defined via theconfiguration interface 418 under the parameters selection 422, such asshown in FIG. 4. As shown, an individual may set the value to be “100dB” for example. It will be appreciated though that all values as shownin FIG. 5 are examples only, and it is contemplated that the same maydefined as desired. Further, it is contemplated that all feature oraspects as discussed in the context of the present disclosure shown maybe “enabled” or “disabled” as desired, shown in FIG. 4 by a “checkbox”associated with certain feature or aspects itemized within theconfiguration interface 418.

As mentioned above, the configuration interface 418 may further includean actions selection 424. In practice, the actions selection 424 may beselected to enable and define if desired (e.g., default values arecontemplated) one or more warning notifications and also an audioattenuation factor, similar to that discussed above in connection withFIG. 1. For example, a “warnings” parameter may be enabled and definedas a “beep,” so that when the mobile device 216 a detects or senses thatthe same is positioned or located on a motor vehicle “highway” or otherroadway, for example as discussed above, and a current magnitude ofvolume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a is greater thanor equal to a predetermined and user-configurable threshold value, themobile device 216 a itself may, optionally, output a “loud” tone orseries of tones or the like, and then attenuate the current magnitude ofvolume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a to apredetermined and user-configurable value. Other examples are possible.For example, the mobile device 216 a may be configured and/or arrangedto output a particular vibrate pattern, and/or activate an LED as avisual cue, and then implement audio attenuation in accordance with thepresent disclosure as desired, and etc.

Further, the actions selection 424 may be selected to enable and defineif desired (e.g., default values are contemplated) an audio attenuationfactor, similar to that discussed above in connection with FIG. 1. Forexample, a “volume level adjust” parameter may be enabled and defined as“65%” so that when the mobile device 216 a detects or senses thatambient noise level is greater than or equal “90 dB,” for example asdiscussed above, and a current magnitude of volume of the audio asoutput by the mobile device 216 a itself is greater than or equal to apredetermined and user-configurable threshold value, the mobile device216 a may, optionally, output a “loud” tone or series of tones or thelike, also as discussed above, and then attenuate the current magnitudeof volume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a to aparticular value that is “65%” of a current magnitude of volume of theaudio as output by the mobile device 216 a. Other examples are possible.For example, the mobile device 216 a may be configured and/or arrangedto fully mute or disable output of audio, at least temporarily for apredetermined period of time (e.g., 5 minutes off then switch back on inresponse to passage of the 5 minutes), so as to minimize the possibilitythat a user of the mobile device 216 a is too distracted to adequatelyrespond to a potentially hazardous situation.

As mentioned above, the configuration interface 418 may further includea distress selection 426. In practice, and as discussed in furtherdetail below in connection with FIG. 5, the ACS module 220 of the mobiledevice 216 a, may be configured and/or arranged to enable a user of themobile device 216 a to select a “panic” button, that which when selectedmay instantiate one or more actions taken by the mobile device 216 a toassist a user of the mobile device 216 a to summon help in an emergencysituation. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a “communications” parametermay be enabled and defined as “Dial 911” so that when the mobile device216 a detects or senses that the above-mentioned panic button has beenselected, the same may dial “911” for help for example. Other examplesare possible. For example, the mobile device 216 a may be configuredand/or arranged such that a text and/or email message may be sent to aparticular recipient(s) in response to selection of the panic button.Still other examples are possible. For example, the mobile device 216 amay be configured and/or arranged such as to command the PTR 210 tooutput for display by the PTR 210, and/or one of the other computingdevices 216 a-b, a pop-up window with a message “Your son needsimmediate assistance. Use the device location application on your mobiledevice to determine his approximate location and get help.”

As another example, as shown in FIG. 4, a “mobile device” distressparameter may be enabled and defined as “alarm” so that when the mobiledevice 216 a detects or senses that the above-mentioned panic button hasbeen selected, the same may output a lou audio alarm via speaker of themobile device 216 a and/or or activate an LED of the mobile device 216 ato emit a “flashing” light pattern for example. Other examples arepossible. For example, the mobile device 216 a may be configured and/orarranged such that instead of an alarm an audio message may be outputvia speaker of the mobile device 216 a indicating that “The Police havebeen notified of an emergency situation and are en route to this scene.”It is contemplated that such a message may be output periodically or atleast intermittently by the mobile device 216 a, possibly interspersedwith “threatening” sounds such as a “realistic” dog bark for example. Inthese and other similar examples it may be beneficial to disconnectheadphones if coupled to the mobile device 216 a.

As mentioned above, the configuration interface 418 may further includea train selection 428, an exceptions selection 430, an activateselection 432, and a lock selection 434. The train selection 428 andexceptions selection 430 are discussed in detail below in connectionwith FIGS. 5-6. With reference to the activate selection 432, it iscontemplated that the same may be selected to activate or deactivate theACS module 220 of the mobile device 216 a, based on the current pairingof the mobile device 216 a and the PTR 210 as shown in FIG. 4, so thatthe mobile device 216 a may be optionally enabled to implement thevarious feature or aspects of the present disclosure as discussedthroughout. Similarly, the lock selection 434 may be selected toactivate or deactivate particular features of the ACS module 220 of themobile device 216 a so that the mobile device 216 a may be enabled toimplement certain, but not all, one of the various feature or aspects ofthe present disclosure. One example in which this may be beneficial isin a parental control scenario, and is discussed in further detail belowin connection with FIG. 5.

For example, referring now to FIG. 5, second example aspects of thesystem 200 of FIG. 2 are shown in detail. In particular, the mobiledevice 216 a is shown in a first view 502 and in a second view 504. Forbrevity, the mobile device 216 a is depicted in a simplified form, andmay generally include more or fewer elements or components as desired,including those configured and/or arranged for implementing variousfeatures associated with adjusting the volume of the mobile device 216a, by the mobile device 216 a without direct manual user-input, based onone or more contextual parameters as discussed in the context of thepresent disclosure. Further, in some examples, the mobile device 216 amay exhibit features consistent with that of a particular smartphone.One example of such is the iPhone® by Apple, Inc. of Cupertino. Otherexamples are possible.

The mobile device 216 a is shown in FIG. 5 to exhibit a GPS module 506,at least one speaker 508, at least one LED 510, at least one microphone512, at least one communication interface 514, and a touchscreen 516.Other examples are possible. For example, while a number of componentsof the mobile device 216 a is or are shown incorporated to or within thesame on a “front” side as per the first view 502, it is contemplatedthat one or more of the same may be incorporated to or within the mobiledevice 216 a at different locations, such as a “back” side or a “bottomend” for example, and such an arrangement may implementation-specific.

Referring now specifically to the first view 502 of FIG. 5, a number ofselectable “software” buttons are shown as displayed by the touchscreen516, including a music button 518, a configure button 520, an ignorebutton 522, and a panic button 524. In practice, it is contemplated thatthe music button 518 may be selected, e.g., via “tap,” by a user of themobile device 216 a to allow the user to access a particular digitalmusic media player, select a particular instance of digital music, andalso adjust volume level of the digital music as output by the mobiledevice 216 a. Further, it is contemplated that the configure button 520may be selected by the user of the mobile device 216 a to allow the userto access the configuration interface 418, as shown and described abovein connection with FIG. 4, to configure the ACS module 220 associatedwith the mobile device 216 a, as desired, to implement one or morefeatures or aspects of the present disclosure. However, in someexamples, the configure button 520 may only be accessible (the configurebutton 520 is indicated as inaccessible in FIG. 4 by intermittent line)when at a prior point in time the lock selection 434 of theconfiguration interface 418 is selected to activate or enable theconfigure button 520. Such an implementation may be beneficial in aparental control scenario where a parent may wish for a child to benefitfrom the aspects of the present disclosure, and further to have controlas to how the aspects of the present disclosure apply at or during useof the mobile device 216 a, without having to worry about tampering ordisabling or circumvention of the same by the minor.

Similarly, the ignore button 522 may only be accessible when at a priorpoint in time the train selection 428 of the configuration interface 418is selected to activate or enable the ignore button 522. It iscontemplated that the ignore button 522 may be selected by the user ofthe mobile device 216 a to allow the user to “train” the ACS module 220of the mobile device 126 a to respond to certain situations or scenariosin a particular way. More specifically, the user of the mobile device216 a may via the ignore button 522 train or condition the ACS module220 to not attenuate the current magnitude of volume of the audio asoutput by the mobile device 216 a in a particular situation. An exampleof such may be when the “time of day” parameter of the configurationinterface 418 is enabled and defined as “6-9 AM,” but the intention ofthe user of the mobile device 216 a is to have that particular ruleapply only on a weekday, i.e., Monday-Friday, and not a weekend day, asdiscussed in further detail below in connection with FIG. 6.

Still referring specifically to the first view 502, the panic button 524may be selected by the user of the mobile device 216 a to enable theuser the mobile device 216 a to summon help in an emergency situation.For example, while walking on a train platform late at night the user ofthe mobile device 216 a may feel threatened by an individual perceivedto be following the user of the mobile device 216 a. Here, it iscontemplated that the panic button 524 may be selected (e.g., via“double-tap”) and based upon configuration of the ACS module 220 of themobile device 126 a, such as discussed above on connection with thedistress selection 426 of the configuration interface 418, the mobiledevice 126 a may in response “dial 911” for example, send a text and/oremail message to a particular recipient(s), send a command the PTR 210to output for display by the PTR 210, and/or one of the other computingdevices 216 a-b, a pop-up window with a message “Immediate assistancerequested.” It is further contemplated that at least an approximateposition of the mobile device 126 a may further be communicated to oneor more particular parties based on data as derived from or by the GPSmodule 506 of the mobile device 126 a. Such data as acquired and/orderived by the GPS module 506 may be utilized in a number of differentways so as to enable various features or aspects of the presentdisclosure, discussed in detail below in connection with second view 504of the mobile device 126 a of FIG. 5.

In some examples the panic button 524 may be “larger” than one or moreof the controls 518, 520, 522, so as to more fully distinguish the panicbutton 524 and make the same easier to access or use. For instance, insome examples, the panic button 524 may be defined so as to occupy about50% of the space on the touchscreen 516, where the other controls 518,520, 522 would then occupy the remaining space on the touchscreen 516.Still other examples are possible. For instance, in some examplesfunctionality offered by or associated with the panic button 524 may bewholly or at least partially implemented in an alternate way(s) ormanner(s). For instance, it is contemplated that the mobile device 216 amay be configured and/or arranged to implement one or more actions, thatmight normally be associated with a physical “press” of the panic button524, upon detection by the mobile device 216 a of an intentional“shake,” such as when the mobile device 216 a is held in-hand and then“shook” back and forth, or left or right, etc., and/or upon detection bythe mobile device 216 a of an unintentional “shake,” such as due to thetrembling or fear of an individual that has the mobile device 216 a ontheir person. Here, it is contemplated that a gyroscope incorporatedwithin or in the mobile device 216 a may serve as a detector of theintentional or unintentional “shake.” Still many other examples arepossible. For example, it is contemplated that the mobile device 216 amay be configured and/or arranged to implement one or more actions, thatmight normally be associated with a physical “press” of the panic button524, upon detection or capture by a camera of the mobile device 216 a ofa particular danger or dangerous situation (e.g., approaching “hooded”human figure). In this manner, it is contemplated that of a number ofdifferent resources may work in concert or separately to implementfunctionality offered by or associated with the panic button 524.

For example, referring now specifically to the second view 504 of FIG.5, it is contemplated that, in addition to enabling the above-mentionedfunctionality associated with the panic button 524, data as acquiredand/or derived by the GPS module 506 of the mobile device 126 a may beutilized by the mobile device 126 a to enable the same to implementvarious features other associated with adjusting the volume of aparticular computing device, by the computing device without directmanual user-input, based on one or more contextual parameters inaccordance with the principles of the present disclosure. For example,such data may enable to the mobile device 216 a to determine physicalmovement or displacement of the mobile device 216 a, absolute locationor position of the mobile device 216 a, and etc. Accordingly, the GPSmodule 506 of the mobile device 126 a may permit the same to leveragethe above-described “movement” parameter and also “location” parameterso that the mobile device 216 a may, optionally, output one or morewarning notifications or the like and then attenuate the currentmagnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a toa predetermined and user-configurable value.

In a similar way, the speaker 508, LED 510, microphone 512,communication interface 514, and touchscreen 516 of the mobile device216 a may permit the same to enable a user of the mobile device 216 a,in manners described in detail above with respect to functionality thatmay be understood to be associated with each of those respectiveelements, from being too distracted by audio currently being output bythe mobile device 216 a, by automatically adjusting the volume of mobiledevice 216 a when one or more contextual criterion are determined to bemet by the mobile device 216 a itself. Still many other examples arecontemplated.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a second example method 600 is shown inaccordance with the present disclosure. In particular, the method 600may illustrate an algorithm to enable a user of the mobile device 216 ato “train” the ACS module 220 of the mobile device 216 a to respond tocertain situations or scenarios in a particular way. For example, atstep 602, the mobile device 216 a itself may attenuate the currentmagnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a,to a predetermined and user-configurable value, in a manner similar tothat described above in connection with at least FIG. 1. Next, at step604, the mobile device 216 a may detect selection of the ignore button522, that element discussed above in connection with at least FIG. 5.

Next, at step 606, a determination may be made by the mobile device 216a as to whether a particular predetermined and user-configurable timeperiod has elapsed between attenuation of the current magnitude ofvolume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 a (step 602) anddetection of selection of the ignore button 522 (step 604). An exampleof such a time period may include sixty (60) seconds; however, otherexamples are possible. When, for example, the particular predeterminedand user-configurable time period has in fact elapsed betweenattenuation of the current magnitude of volume of the audio as output bythe mobile device 216 a and detection of selection of the ignore button522, process flow within the example method 600 may branch totermination step 608.

When, however, the particular predetermined and user-configurable timeperiod has in fact not elapsed between attenuation of the currentmagnitude of volume of the audio as output by the mobile device 216 aand detection of selection of the ignore button 522, process flow withinthe example method 600 may branch to step 610. At step 610, the mobiledevice 216 a itself may log or “push” to persistent storage, in a table,database, etc., the event or sequence of events that led to theattenuation of the current magnitude of volume of the audio as output bythe mobile device 216 a.

For instance, and continuing with the example mentioned above inconnection with FIG. 5, the mobile device 216 a may determine thatattenuation of the current magnitude of volume of the audio as output bythe mobile device 216 a (step 602) was perfected because the “time ofday” parameter was enabled and defined as “6-9 AM,” and that the mobiledevice 216 a had detected or sensed that a time of day was in fact “8:30AM,” and at the same time the current magnitude of volume of the audioas output by the mobile device 216 a was greater than or equal to thepredetermined and user-configurable threshold value. In this example,however, the actual day itself may have been (or is) a particularweekend day, i.e., Saturday, and it might be that the user of the mobiledevice 216 a would rather the weekend be an exception to the “time ofday” rule. It will be appreciated that this is only an example, and thatmany other examples of “exceptions” are possible.

Next, at step 610, the mobile device 216 a may push the log file to theACS module 220 of the PTR 210 via any particular communicationconnection. Here, it is contemplated that the user of the mobile device216 a may at some point access the configuration interface 418 as shownand described above in connection with FIG. 4 and then, in turn, selectthe exceptions selection 430 to either “accept” the exception that theuser of the mobile device 216 a would rather the weekend (or justSaturday) be an exception to the “time of day” rule, or “decline” theexception that the user of the mobile device 216 a would rather theweekend (or just Saturday) be an exception to the “time of day” rule. Itis further contemplated that the ACS module 220 of the PTR 210 may thenat some point push the exception, if in fact accepted, to the ACS module220 of the mobile device 126 a so that the same may respond in a manneras desired by the user of the mobile device 126 a. In this manner, theuser of the mobile device 216 a may “train” the corresponding ACS module220 to respond to certain situations scenarios in a particular way.

As mentioned above, the various features or aspects of the presentdisclosure address various issues associated with the potential of beingtoo distracted by audio currently being output by a particular computingdevice, such as a smartphone for example, by automatically adjusting thevolume of that computing device when one or more contextual criterionare determined to be met by the computing device itself. In addition,and as discussed throughout, it is contemplated that various features oraspects of the present disclosure may be incorporated into or within atelevision receiver as part of a satellite television implementation.Other advantages or benefits may include enhancing end-user safety and,when the end-user is a child, peace of mind for the parent(s) of thatchild in that the parent and/or child would be promptly made aware ifthere was an issue. Still other advantages or benefits may bescenario-specific. For example, if the end-user has their headphones onin a building and loud noise such as a fire alarm or a door bellactivates, the output sound level could be reduced to a level so thatthe first alarm or door may be heard, or, if being used in a vehicle carthen noise such as police sirens or ambulances could be detected toalert the end-user.

In one example implementation, a method may include or comprisedetecting, by a mobile device, ambient noise level at time of output ofaudio by the mobile device at a particular volume level. Here, themobile device may thus be configured and/or arranged to detect noiselevel of immediate surrounding at the same time that the mobile deviceoutputs audio content, such as music for example. The method may furtherinclude or comprise comparing, by the mobile device, the ambient noiselevel to a threshold value. Here, the mobile device may thus beconfigured and/or arranged to quantify ambient noise level and thencompare the same to a threshold value. It is contemplated that thethreshold value is a user-configurable parameter. The method may furtherinclude or comprise decreasing, by the mobile device, the particularvolume level by a predetermined factor when the ambient noise level isgreater than or equal to the threshold value. Here, the mobile devicemay thus be configured and/or arranged to quantify output volume level,and then attenuate the same to exhibit a different, less loud, volumelevel in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. It iscontemplated that the predetermined factor, e.g., 75% of maximum volumelevel, is a user-configurable parameter.

In another example implementation, a method may include or compriseoutputting, by a mobile device, audio at a particular volume level,monitoring, by the mobile device level at time of outputting the audio,for occurrence of a particular state or parameter detectable by themobile device, and decreasing, by the mobile device, the particularvolume level in response to detecting occurrence of the particular stateor parameter by the mobile device so that output volume level of themobile device is less than the particular volume level. Here, it iscontemplated that the particular state or parameter could correspondingto any particular factor measurable or otherwise discernible by themobile device. Some examples of such include time of day, movementand/or positioning of the mobile device itself, ambient noise level,noise level of audio currently or instantly being output by the mobiledevice. Additionally, in some examples an alert may be output by themobile device so that an end-user is “made aware” or forced to focus ontheir surrounding. In general, the alert may include or comprise one ormore of an audio alert, a visual alert, a tactile alert, and/or anycombination thereof

In another example implementation a television receiver may include orcomprise at least one processor, at least one communications interfacecommunicatively coupled with the at least one processor, and at leastone memory element communicatively coupled with and readable by at leastone processor and having stored therein processor-readable instructions.The processor-readable instructions when executed by the at least oneprocessor may cause the at least one processor to send to a mobiledevice via the at least one communications interface data thatcorresponds to a definition of a threshold value used by the mobiledevice to compare with ambient noise level detected by the mobile deviceand to enable the mobile device to decrease output volume level of themobile device when ambient noise level detected by the mobile device isgreater than or equal to the threshold value. Such an implementationmay, among other things, serve to entice new customers to subscribe toservices as offered by a particular satellite television provider, aswell as provide an incentive for existing customers to maintain theirloyalty and/or relationship with the particular satellite televisionprovider.

FIG. 7 shows an example computer system or device 700 in accordance withthe disclosure. An example of a computer system or device includes anenterprise server, blade server, desktop computer, laptop computer,tablet computer, personal data assistant, smartphone, gaming console,STB, television receiver, and/or any other type of machine configuredfor performing calculations. Any particular one of thepreviously-described computing devices may be wholly or at leastpartially configured to exhibit features similar to the computer system700, such as any of the respective elements of at least FIG. 2. In thismanner, any of one or more of the respective elements of at least FIG. 2may be configured to perform and/or include instructions that, whenexecuted, perform the method of FIG. 1 and/or the method of FIG. 6.Still further, any of one or more of the respective elements of at leastFIG. 1 may be configured to perform and/or include instructions that,when executed, instantiate and implement functionality of the PTR 210and/or the computing devices 216 a-c.

The computer device 700 is shown comprising hardware elements that maybe electrically coupled via a bus 702 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include aprocessing unit with one or more processors 704, including withoutlimitation one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips,graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like); one or more inputdevices 706, which may include without limitation a remote control, amouse, a keyboard, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 708,which may include without limitation a presentation device (e.g.,television), a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 700 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 710, which maycomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or may include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory, and/or a read-only memory, which may be programmable,flash-updateable, and/or the like. Such storage devices may beconfigured to implement any appropriate data stores, including withoutlimitation, various file systems, database structures, and/or the like.

The computer device 700 might also include a communications subsystem712, which may include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless and/or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device and/or a chipset such as a Bluetooth™ device,702.11 device, WiFi device, WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities such as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), W-CDMA(Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution),etc., and/or the like. The communications subsystem 712 may permit datato be exchanged with a network (such as the network described below, toname one example), other computer systems, and/or any other devicesdescribed herein. In many examples, the computer system 700 will furthercomprise a working memory 714, which may include a random access memoryand/or a read-only memory device, as described above.

The computer device 700 also may comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 714, including anoperating system 716, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 718, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various examples, and/or may be designedto implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided by otherexamples, as described herein. By way of example, one or more proceduresdescribed with respect to the method(s) discussed above, and/or systemcomponents might be implemented as code and/or instructions executableby a computer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect,then, such code and/or instructions may be used to configure and/oradapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one ormore operations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the storagedevice(s) 710 described above. In some cases, the storage medium mightbe incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 700.In other examples, the storage medium might be separate from a computersystem (e.g., a removable medium, such as flash memory), and/or providedin an installation package, such that the storage medium may be used toprogram, configure, and/or adapt a general purpose computer with theinstructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take the formof executable code, which is executable by the computer device 700and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the computer system 700 (e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/decompression utilities, etc.), then takes theform of executable code.

It will be apparent that substantial variations may be made inaccordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardwaremight also be used, and/or particular elements might be implemented inhardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.),or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some examples may employ a computersystem (such as the computer device 700) to perform methods inaccordance with various examples of the disclosure. According to a setof examples, some or all of the procedures of such methods are performedby the computer system 700 in response to processor 704 executing one ormore sequences of one or more instructions (which might be incorporatedinto the operating system 716 and/or other code, such as an applicationprogram 718) contained in the working memory 714. Such instructions maybe read into the working memory 714 from another computer-readablemedium, such as one or more of the storage device(s) 710. Merely by wayof example, execution of the sequences of instructions contained in theworking memory 714 may cause the processor(s) 704 to perform one or moreprocedures of the methods described herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” asused herein, may refer to any non-transitory medium that participates inproviding data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion.In an embodiment implemented using the computer device 700, variouscomputer-readable media might be involved in providing instructions/codeto processor(s) 704 for execution and/or might be used to store and/orcarry such instructions/code. In many implementations, acomputer-readable medium is a physical and/or tangible storage medium.Such a medium may take the form of a non-volatile media or volatilemedia. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical and/ormagnetic disks, such as the storage device(s) 710. Volatile media mayinclude, without limitation, dynamic memory, such as the working memory714.

Example forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable media mayinclude a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or anyother magnetic medium, a compact disc, any other optical medium, ROM(Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and etc., any othermemory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer mayread instructions and/or code. Various forms of computer-readable mediamay be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions to the processor(s) 704 for execution. By way of example,the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk and/oroptical disc of a remote computer. A remote computer might load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions assignals over a transmission medium to be received and/or executed by thecomputer system 700.

The communications subsystem 712 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 702 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 714, from which the processor(s) 704 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 714 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device710 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 704.

It should further be understood that the components of computer device700 can be distributed across a network. For example, some processingmay be performed in one location using a first processor while otherprocessing may be performed by another processor remote from the firstprocessor. Other components of computer system 700 may be similarlydistributed. As such, computer device 700 may be interpreted as adistributed computing system that performs processing in multiplelocations. In some instances, computer system 700 may be interpreted asa single computing device, such as a distinct laptop, desktop computer,or the like, depending on the context.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various method steps orprocedures, or system components as appropriate. For instance, inalternative configurations, the methods may be performed in an orderdifferent from that described, and/or various stages may be added,omitted, and/or combined. Also, features described with respect tocertain configurations may be combined in various other configurations.Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined ina similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of theelements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure orclaims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those of skill with an enabling descriptionfor implementing described techniques. Various changes may be made inthe function and arrangement of elements without departing from thespirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations may beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Furthermore, the example examples described herein may be implemented aslogical operations in a computing device in a networked computing systemenvironment. The logical operations may be implemented as: (i) asequence of computer implemented instructions, steps, or program modulesrunning on a computing device; and (ii) interconnected logic or hardwaremodules running within a computing device.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: detecting, by a mobiledevice, ambient noise level at time of output of audio by the mobiledevice at a particular volume level; comparing, by the mobile device,the ambient noise level to a threshold value; and decreasing, by themobile device, the particular volume level by a predetermined factorwhen the ambient noise level is greater than or equal to the thresholdvalue.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by themobile device from a television receiver via a telecommunications link,data that corresponds to a definition of the threshold value; andstoring, by the mobile device to a local persistent storage device, thedata that corresponds to the definition of the threshold value.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: detecting by the mobile devicethe ambient noise level to be greater than or equal to the thresholdvalue; and decreasing, by the mobile device in response to thedetecting, the particular volume level by the predetermined factor sothat output volume level of the mobile device is less than theparticular volume level.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:detecting ambient noise level by a microphone of the mobile device. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: outputting by a speaker ofthe mobile device an audible warning signal when the ambient noise levelis greater than or equal to the threshold value.
 6. The method of claim1, further comprising: outputting by a vibratory mechanism of the mobiledevice a tactile warning signal when the ambient noise level is greaterthan or equal to the threshold value.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: outputting by a display screen of the mobile device a visualwarning when the ambient noise level is greater than or equal to thethreshold value.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:outputting by a light source of the mobile device a visual warningsignal when the ambient noise level is greater than or equal to thethreshold value.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:detecting, by the mobile device, a command to instantiate acommunication for transmission by the mobile device selected from aphone call, a text message, and an electronic mail to summon assistancein a perceived emergency situation.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: detecting, by the mobile device, the ambient noise level tobe greater than or equal to the threshold value; decreasing, by themobile device in response to the detecting, the particular volume levelby the predetermined factor so that output volume level of the mobiledevice is less than the particular volume level; and increasing, by themobile device in response to a command received by the mobile devicewithin a particular time period of the decreasing, output volume levelof the mobile device to be greater than or equal to the particularvolume level.
 11. A method, comprising: outputting, by a mobile device,audio at a particular volume level; monitoring, by the mobile devicelevel at time of outputting the audio, for occurrence of a particularstate or parameter detectable by the mobile device; and decreasing, bythe mobile device, the particular volume level in response to detectingoccurrence of the particular state or parameter by the mobile device sothat output volume level of the mobile device is less than theparticular volume level.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:detecting by the mobile device onset of a particular time of day; anddecreasing by the mobile device the particular volume level so thatoutput volume level of the mobile device is less than the particularvolume level.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: detectingby the mobile device physical movement or displacement of the mobiledevice to be greater than or equal a predetermined velocity thresholdvalue; and decreasing by the mobile device the particular volume levelso that output volume level of the mobile device is less than theparticular volume level.
 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:detecting by the mobile device physical location of the mobile device tobe within a particular geographic area or region; and decreasing by themobile device the particular volume level so that output volume level ofthe mobile device is less than the particular volume level.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: detecting by the mobile deviceambient noise level to be greater than or equal a predeterminedthreshold value; and decreasing by the mobile device the particularvolume level so that output volume level of the mobile device is lessthan the particular volume level.
 16. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: detecting by the mobile device output volume level to begreater than or equal a predetermined threshold value; and decreasing bythe mobile device the particular volume level so that output volumelevel of the mobile device is less than the particular volume level. 17.The method of claim 11, further comprising: outputting by the mobiledevice at least one of an audio, tactile, and video alert in response todetecting occurrence of the particular state or parameter by the mobiledevice.
 18. The method of claim 11, further comprising: detecting by themobile device occurrence of the particular state or parameter by themobile device; and decreasing, by the mobile device, the particularvolume level so that output volume level of the mobile device is lessthan the particular volume level.
 19. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: receiving, by the mobile device from a television receivervia a telecommunications link, data that corresponds to a definition ofthe particular state or parameter to be monitored by the mobile device;and storing, by the mobile device to a local persistent storage device,the data that corresponds to the definition of the particular state orparameter to be monitored by the mobile device.
 20. A televisionreceiver, comprising: at least one processor; at least onecommunications interface communicatively coupled with the at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory element communicatively coupled withand readable by at least one processor and having stored thereinprocessor-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: send to a mobile devicevia the at least one communications interface data that corresponds to adefinition of a threshold value used by the mobile device to comparewith ambient noise level detected by the mobile device and to enable themobile device to decrease output volume level of the mobile device whenambient noise level detected by the mobile device is greater than orequal to the threshold value.